"We are convinced that the domain name holders of the 74,000 .eu names are acting as a front for a number of registrars. The domain name holders and the registrars can be regarded as one and the same," said Herman Sobrie, legal manager at EURid.

"Since registrars should only register domain names for existing customers and not 'warehouse' the names in order to resell them at a higher price, this is clearly in breach of the registrar contract," he added.

In other words, unscrupulous scrotes have been hoovering up domain names so they can flog them on for a few quid more.

PC Advisor can only assume that Scouse Barry, Richie Two Pegs and Swift Swifty, having failed to make a killing knocking out hookie World Cup tickets, have turned their eyes to the murky but lucrative domain-name black market. So if you're in a boozer in a less than salubrious part of town, and a man with sovereign rings and unfortunate tattoos offers you a hessian bag full of .eu domain names, think twice.